Weft-controlling mechanism for looms.



' No'. 724,113. PATENTED MAR. 31,1903.

WEFT CONTROLLING MECHANISM FORJLOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15. 1902.

N0 MODEL. SHEETS-SHEET 1. S

WITNESSES: INVENTORY.

v BY 1 ATTORNEY PATENTBD MAR; 31', 1903.-

, E KIPJ WEPT CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR LooMs'. Q

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 1.5 1902.

Q\) 5 sums-sum a. N

no MODEL.

WITNESSES:

ATTOWRNIEY I]: Nouns PETEIE co. PnoTo-Lmm. wlsmuo' PATBNTED MAR. 31, 1903.

Fl El I WEPT CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR LOUMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15. 1902.

'6 SHEETS-411E131 3.

K0 MODEL.

lNVENTOR i 5.

ATTORNEY WITNESSES.

No.724,113. PATENTED MAR.3 11,1903.I

- P.IE.KIP. r

WEFT GONTROLLING MEGHANISM FOR LOOMS.

APPLIOATIONVPIILBD Mn 15. 1902. no MODEL. 1 v 5 sums-sum 4.

No."724,113. PATENTED MAR. 31:, I903,

1-". B. KIP. I

WEFT CONTROLLING MECHANISM-FOB LOOMS;

- APPLICATION FILED .MAY'15. 1902. I

5 sums-sum 6- N0 MODEL.

INVENTOR JMg, Q

. I BY I I 7 ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

" NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIO KIP, or MONTOLAIB, NEW JERSEY.

W'EFT-CQNTROLLING MGHAtii-SM FOR LOOMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Pateht No. 724,113, dated March 31, 1903.

" Application filed May 15, 1902. Serial No. 10'7,109- (No model.) I

To alt whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERIC E. KIP, a citizen of the United Stat es,residing at Montclair, Essex county, New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Weft-Controlling Mechanisms for Looms, of which/the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means whereby the substantial exhaustion or failure of the weft in the running-shuttle of a. loom is detected and indicated, and the indicating means automatically sets in operation mech-; anism either to stop the loom or to automat-.

ically replenish the weft without stopping the loom.

loom, so that the weaver may replenish the weft, while in other kinds of weaving it is preferred to employ some form of automatic replenishing mechanism.

The object of the present invention is to, provide a simple mechanical feeler device; which is preferably actuated by a vibrating part of the loom when the weft is wholly eX-' hausted or exhausted to a predetermined extent to either stop the loom or supply weft tof ployed.

the same automatically. It will be understood that for stopping the loom the above device may act through a knock-off lever and shipper-lever in the usual way, and for replenishing the weft the de-' vice may act through an automatic weft-replenishing mechanism of a known kind.-

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the invention, Figure 1 .sections, respectively, at lines 00 andw in Fig. 5, but on a much larger scale than the. Fig. 8 is a plan of the.

last-named figure.

feature seen in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a plan view illustrating a slightly-different form ofjthe It may be explained that in some kinds of weaving it is desirable to stop the.

device. Figs. 10, 11, 12, and 13 illustrate slightly-modified constructions of the bobbin and shuttle, whichwill be hereinafter described.

' Referring primarily to Figs. 1 to 4:, l des-- ignates the breast-beam of a loom; 2, the lay;

3, the knock-off lever; 4, the shipper-lever, and 5 the shuttle-box on the lay. These features in some form are common to looms. To stop the loom, the shipper-lever is pushed from its notch by the knock-off lever, and the shipper-lever is then shifted (to the right in Fig. 1)'by its spring.

The feeler device (designated in Figs. 1 and 5 as a whole by F) is best seen in detail in I Fig. 2.. It comprises a movable part or sliding carriage 6, mounted in a guide or way 7 on a bracket 8, forming a prolongation of the breast-beam, and the knock-off lever 3 engages a recess or aperture in the slide 6, as seen at 9 in Fig. 2, whereby when the slide is moved toward the front of the loom or forward it causes the knock-off lever to release the shipper-lever. In order to move the slide 6 at the proper time, so as to stop the loom,

the mechanism now to be described is em- Mounted to slide longitudinally in the carriage 6 is a yielding pusher 10, backed by a relatively light spring 11. This pusher has an arm 12, which may and under normal conditions does project upward through a slot 13 in one arm of a lever- 14., fulcrumed in bearings on the carriage 6, whereby if the pusher be driven in when the lever 14 is in the position seen in Fig. 2 said'pusher will carry the sliding part or carriage 6 with it through the engagement of the arm 12 with the end of the slot 13. Normally when the shuttle S in Fig. 1 is in the shuttle-box at that side of the loom and the lay beats upthe pusher 10 enters an aperture 16 in the side of the boxand is impinged upon by the side of the shuttle which drives the pusher inward or toward the front of the loom. Now if the arm 12 of the pusher 1 be engaged with the slottedlever 14 obviously the carriage 6 will be carried with the pusher and the loom stopped, Tofprevent this from taking place at each alternate beat up of the lay and to permit it to occur at predetermined times, a tripping-feeler is em-.

ployed, as will be described.

IOO

Mounted slidably in the pusher 10 is the tripping-feeder 17, backed by a relatively light spring 18. This feeler carries a toe 19, which plays in a slot in the pusher and is adapted to engage the shorter arm of the bent lever 14. The head or end of this feeler 17 is adapted to enter an aperture 20 in the side of the shuttle S when the lay heats up and is impinged upon by the filling or weft 21 on the bobbin 22, as indicated in Fig. 4, the pressure thus driving the feeler into the pusher. This occurs during the normal operation of the loom, and as the proportions are such that the feeler 17 is first impinged upon and driven in before the pusher 10 is struck by the shuttle it follows that the toe 19, acting on the shorter arm of the lever 1st, throws up the slotted arm of the lever 14: out of the path of the arm 12 on the pusher before the latter is moved, thus allowing the pusher to be ultimately moved without disturbing the carriage 6. As the filling in the shuttle becomes gradually more and more nearly exhausted the impingement thereof on the feeler 17 will occur later and later until when the filling shall have become exhausted to a predetermined extent the shuttle will impinge upon the pusher and move it into engagement with the lever 14 before the feeler is moved, so as to rock or trip said lever, and the effect will be to move the carriage 6 and stop the loom.

As shuttles vary somewhat in width and it may be desirable to slightly vary the normal distance between the face of the pusher,which is to impinge on the shuttle, and the face of the head on the feeler, which impinges on the filling, this can be effected by shifting the stop-collar, which carries the toe 19, along the feeler.

Preferably the arm 12 will be hooked a little at 12, so as to take over the arm of the lever at the end of the slot therein when the operating engagement is efieoted, and thus prevent disengagement by the throwing up of the lever, and preferably, also, the arm of the lever will be curved upward at 14, so that the arm 12 may wipe under it when the pusher is moved outward by its spring on the withdrawal of the lay.

In Fig. 1, 15 is the weft-fork, and 15 its slide. These are adapted to act in the usual way upon a knock-off lever for stopping the loom; but in order to adapt the loom to the operation of both the weft-fork and the described feeler mechanism, so that either may stop the loom when the weft fails, two knockoff levers 3 and 3 are used, for convenience these levers being coupled together by teeth 3, so that the lever 3 will disengage the shipper-lever through the medium of the lever 3. Obviously this manner of arranging and coupling the levers is not the only way in which they may be disposed for effecting the object desired, but it is simple and effective.

The above description refers tothe appli cation of the invention to the setting in operation of the loomstopping mechanism; but Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 illustrate the feeler device adapted for setting in operation a known form of weft or filling supplying mechanism, and this adaptation will now be described.

Referring to ,Fig. 5, which is a plan View showing at the right a well-known device for supplying bobbins or weft-holders as required to the running-shuttle of the loom, it will only be necessary here to say that in this construction a rock-shaft 23 extends across the loom at the front, and when this shaft is rocked it sets the weft-supplying mechanism ready for operation when the lay next heats up. The shaft 23 is rocked by a slide 24, which impinges on an upright arm 25, carried by the shaft 23, and this slide 24 is actuated by the vibrating weft-hammer 26 at the proper times.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a means whereby the moving of the carriage 6 of the feeler mechanism F will act to cause the weft-hammer to engage and move the slide 24, thus setting the supplying mechanism for operation. On the slide 24 is pivotally mounted or fulcrumed a hooked lever 27, Figs. 7 and 8, which is weighted by preference at one end, sorthat normally its other or hooked arm will be held up out of the path of the vibrating weft-hammer. A rock-shaft 28, mounted on the bracket 8, has an arm 29, pendent behind some part 6 of the carriage 6 andin the path of said part, and another arm 30, situated over or above the lever 27, whereby when the carriage 6 is shifted the shaft 28 is rocked, so as-to cause the arm 30 to impinge on and depress the lever 27 until the hook thereon is in the path of the weft-hammer. The latter is so timed that as soon as the arm 30 depresses thelever 27 the weft-hammer advances and engages said hook, thus driving forward the slide 24 and through it rocking the shaft 28.

The slide 24, lever 27, and rock-shaft 28 are not in themselves broadly new; but the shaft 28 has not heretofore been rocked through the same instrumentalities as in the construction above described.

This invention is not restricted to the spe: cific mechanical construction herein shown and described, as this construction may be varied to some extent without departing materially from my invention.

Being the first, as I believe, to provide a loom with a feeler having operatively connected therewith a lover-like device which is normally adapted to be actuated and abnormally adapted to remain quiescent and with means coacting therewith and adapted to operate loom-controlling mechanism whenever said lever device remains quiescent, my invention is not restricted to any specific means for accomplishing thesaid result. For example, the movable carriage 6 may be constructed and mounted in any manner desired. The pusher and feeler may have any horizontally instead of, vertically.

a nose 13" on a rocker 14 fulcrumed on the carriage between the pusher and feeler.

from the bobbin at that point.

the pusher to be acted on.

scene convenient form, so long as they act when there is a working amount of filling in the shuttle to look a retaining or locking device and on the exhaustion of said filling to a predetermined extent to permit said locking device to remain locked and to thereby actuate a loom-stopping or a filling-changing mech-' anism.

Fig. 9 illustrates a form of the mechanism wherein the pusher or finger and feeler are disposed abreast or side by side in the carriage, and the coupling rocker or lever moves In this form of the device 6" is the carriage, mounted to slide in a guide 7, as before, and 3 is the knock-off lever. The pusher 10" and feeler 1'7 are mounted slidably in bearings in the I carriage and are provided, respectively, with springs 11 and 18. On the pusher is a shoulder or stud 12*, which is normally engaged by The feeler has a stud 19, which when it is pressed in by the impact of the filling 21 in the shuttle S acts on the other arm of the rocker 14* to disengage the nose 13 from the shoulder 12 to uncouple the carriage from the pusher. A spring 31 tends to hold the nose 13 in engagement with the shoulder 12". This form of the device is obviously adapted to control either a loom-stopping mechanism or a weftreplenishing mechanism.

Figs. 10 and 11 show a bobbin havingin it a recess 22, so placed that the feeler 17 may enter it when the filling is wholly exhausted This recess permits the feeler to enter the shuttle to a considerable extent at the next beat up of the lay after the weft has been removed from the point where the recess is situated. Thus the impingement on the feeler will at this moment be delayed to a considerable extent and allow Fig. 10 is a crosssection at the recess, and Fig. 11 is a plan, partly in section. a

Fig. 12 shows the recessed bobbin employed in connection with a spring 31 in the shuttle and extending across the aperture 20 in the shuttle and provided with a head 31 to bear on the filling, which normally covers the recess 22 in the bobbin. The feeler is impinged on by this spring when the lay beats up, and when the filling is exhausted at the point on the bobbin where the recess is situated the head of the spring will enter said recess, and thus permit the feeler to enter to a greater extent into the shuttle.

The spring 31 should be thin and flexible, so as not to offer any material resistancein itself to flexure when impinged upon by the feeler. The advantage of the spring or plate 31 is that as its head always occupies the same position relatively to the recess in the bobbin and as it is not very important at what point the feeler bears upon it the construction permits of some degree of displacement of, the

The differentforms of the filling-exhaustionindicating devices herein set forth are all obviously adapted to control either a loom-stopping mechanism, a weft-replenishing mechanism, or a filling-changing mechanism.

By the words bobbin, weftholder, or

filling-holder as herein employed is meant any known form of'device on which weft or filling is wound-as, for example, skewers, cops, butt-cops, all-cops, and the like and by the phrase weft or filling-exhaustion-in- 8o dicating mechanism is meant any device for controlling the time of operation of a weftreplenishing or loom-stopping mechanism.

The so-called pusher 10 and the so-.

called t'eeler 17 may both be generically included under the name fingers, one of said fingers being in advance of the other, as fully described and explained. V

I wish it understood that in all of the forms of filling-exhaustion-indicating devices herein illustrated there will be always a predeter mined amount of surplus filling or initial winding of filling remaining on the bobbin or filling-holder at the time of actuation of the weft-controlling devices. plus filling is shown situated on the barrel of f the bobbin at the point where the feeler strikes. The barrel of the bobbin may advantageously be recessed 'at this point, as shown in Figs. 1 and 9, for example.

In Figs. 11, .12, and 13 this surplus filling may be advantageously situated, as shown, at the end of the bobbin or filling-holder.

I have illustrated herein a well-known form of weft-replenishing mechanism wherein the bobbin is changed in the running shuttle. My filling-exhaustion devices are, however, equally well adapted to control the times of operation of a shuttle-changing or'bobbinbox-changing weft-replenishing mechanism of any known kind.

By exhaustion, substantial exhaustion, denuded, denudation, and like phrases as referring to the condition of the filling in the active shuttle I mean such degrees thereof as will permit the filling-exhaustion device to operatewithout making animperfection in the cloth and still leave only a minimum amount of unused or surplus filling on the bobbin orv filling-holder.

Certain parts of my invention may be used without other parts. For this reason,

Having described my invention, I claim-:-

1; A Weft or filling exhaustion indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a movable carriage, a yielding pusher adapted to recede when impinged upon by the shuttle, a yielding feeler adapted to recede when impinged upon by means in'the shuttle, rneans adapted to couple the said pusher to said carriage 'whereby the carriage is moved when the pusher is impinged upon and recedes, and

In Fig. 1 this sur- 5 means adapted to disconnect said coupling means and render the same inoperative when said feeler is impinged upon and recedes a substantial period of time before said pusher is impinged upon and recedes.

2. A weft or filling exhaustion indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a movable carriage, a fixed guideway therefor, a pusher slidably mounted in said carriage adapted to recede when impinged upon by the shuttle, a spring adapted to move said pusher into an extended position, a feeler slidably mounted in said pusher, adapted to recede when impinged upon by means in the shuttle, a spring adapted to move said feeler into an extended position, coupling devices connecting said pusher to said carriage, whereby the carriage is moved when the pusher moves, and devices adapted to disconnect said coupling devices and render the same inoperative when said feeler is impinged upon and recedes a substantial period of time before said pusher is impinged upon and recedes.

3. A weft or filling exhaustion indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a movable carriage, a fixed guideway therefor, a pusher slidably mounted in said carriage adapted to recede when impinged upon by the shuttle, a spring adapted to move said pusher into an extended position, a feeler slidably mounted in said pusher adapted to recede when impinged upon by means in the shuttle, a spring adaptedto move said feeler into an extended position, coupling devices connecting said pusher to said carriage, whereby the carriage is moved when the pusher moves,and coacting devices upon said feeler and upon said coupling devices adapted to disconnect said coupling devices, and render the same inoperative when said feeler is impinged upon and recedes a substantial period of time before said pusher is impinged upon and recedes.

4:. A weft or filling exhaustion indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a carriage, means for moving the same through the impact of the shuttle, and a feeler yieldingly mounted, adapted to render inactive said carriage-moving means when said feeler is impinged upon by means in the shuttle, and thereby substantially moved with reference to said carriage-moving means.

5. In a loom filling-exhaustion-indicating mechanism comprising a movably-mounted carriage, means to move said carriage when required, and a yielding feeler normally rendering said carriage-moving means inoperative, but adapted, on substantial exhaustion of the filling in the active shuttle, to permit said carriage-moving means to become operative.

6. In a loom, a filling-exhaustion-indicatin g mechanism,comprisin g a movably-moun ted carriage, means to move said carriage when required, and a yielding feeler normally rendering said carriage-moving means inoperative, but adapted, on substantial exhaustion of the filling in the active shuttle, to permit said carriage-moving means to become operative.

7. In a loom filling-exhaustion-indicating mechanism, consisting of a movably-mounted carriage, means for moving said carriage, through impact of the shuttle when the lay beats up, and a yielding feeler, adapted when impinged upon to render said carriage-moving means inoperative.

8. In a loom, the combination with a fillingexhaustion indicating mechanism, of two yieldingly-mounted feelers or fingers, means for normally impinging first on one of said fingers, to unlock a locking or retaining device, and means, when exhaustion of filling in the shuttle permits thereof, for impinging first on the other finger, to thereby actuate the mechanism as and for the purpose set forth.

9. A weft or filling exhaustion indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a movable carriage, a slidable pusher borne by said carriage and coupled thereto, adapted to be impinged upon by the shuttle and thereby caused to recede, and a slidable feeler borne by said pusher adapted to be impinged upon by means in said shuttle, and thereby caused to recede, such recession, when occurring substantially sooner than the recession of said pusher, by reason of the presence of a larger amount of filling in said shuttle, operating to render inactive the devices coupling said pusher to said carriage, and such recession of said feeler, when occurring substantially at or about the same time as the recession of said pusher, by reason of the presence of only a small amount of fillingin said shuttle, having no efiect upon said coupling devices, whereby same are allowed to operate and said carriage to be moved.

10. A weft or filling exhaustion indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a movable carriage, a member borne by said carriage and slidable with reference thereto and adapted to be impinged upon by the shuttle and moved thereby, devices adapted to couple said sliding member to said carriage, a second member, borne by said first memberand slidable with reference thereto, as well as with reference to said carrlage, and adapted to be impinged upon by means in the shuttle and moved thereby, and means adapted to render inactive the said coupling devices when the last-mentioned sliding member is moved with reference to the first-mentioned sliding member, but to allow said coupling devices to act when both of said sliding members act substantially in unison.

11. A weft or filling exhaustion indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a movable carriage, a yielding pusher on said carriage and in position to be impinged upon by the shuttle when the lay boats up, a yielding feeler on the carriage and in position to be impinged upon by the filling in the shuttle when the lay beats up, and a movable device on the carriage which normally couples the pusher to the latter, said coupling device be- IIO ingin the path of the feeler, whereby the latter trips said coupling device when impinged upon by the filling in the shuttle.

12. Aweft or filling exhaustion indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a movable carriage, a fixed guideway therefor, a pusher slidably mounted in said carriage, the spring of said pusher, the feeler slidably mounted in said pusher, the spring of said feeler, and an intermediate coupling device which couples the pusher and carriage together, normally, said coupling device being in the path of the feeler whereby the latter acts to uncouple the pusher from the carriage.

13'. Aweft or filling exhaustion indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a movable carriage, means for moving said carriage through impact of the shuttle and a yielding feeler adapted, when impinged upon, to render said carriage moving means inoperative.

14. In a loom, filling-eXhaustion-indicating mechanism, consisting of a movably-mounted carriage, means for moving said carriage through impact of a vibrating part, and a yielding feeler, adapted when impinged upon to render said carriage-moving means inoperative.

15. A weft or filling exhaustion indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a movable part adapted to operate loom-controlling devices, a yielding pusher adapted to recede when impinged upon when the lay vibrates by means other than means in the shuttle, a yielding feeler adapted to recede when impinged upon by means in the shuttle, means adapted to couple the said pusher to said first-mentioned movable part whereby the said movable part is moved when the pusher is impinged upon and recedes, and means adapted to disconnect saidcoupling means and render the same inoperative when said feeler is impinged upon and recedes a substantial period of time before said pusher is impinged upon and recedes.

16. In a loom, the combination with loomcontrolling mechanism, of two yieldinglymounted fingers, one adapted to be impinged upon by means in the shuttle and thereby caused to recede and the other adapted to be impinged upon by vibrating means other than means in .the shuttle and thereby caused to recede, the last-named finger being coupled to the said looincontrolling mechanism whereby said finger is enabled to operate same when said finger recedes, and the first-named finger being adapted to disconnect the devices which so couple the olher finger to the loom-controlling mechanism, when said firstnamed finger is impinged upon and recedes a certain predetermined period of time before said last-named finger is impinged upon and recedes.

17. A filling-exhaustion-indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a yielding feeler adapted to be impinged upon by means in the shuttle, a lever-like device operatively connected therewith, said feeler thus normally actuating said lever-like device, means for compelling said lever device to remain quiescent when required, and coacting means for operating loom-controlling devices whenever said lever device remains quiescent.

18. A filling-exhaustion-indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a feeler adapted to be impinged upon by-means in the shuttle, alever-like device operatively connected with said feeler, saidlever device being normally actuated so long as a predetermined amount of filling remains in the shuttle, and means to prevent actuation of said lever device on substantialexhaustion of the filling in the shuttle, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

19. A filling-exhaustion-indicating mechanism for looms, comprising a feeler adapted to be impinged upon by means in the shuttle, a leverlike device operatively connected therewith, presence of filling in the shuttle acting to actuate said lever device, substantial exhaustion of filling in the shuttle acting to prevent actuation of said lever device, and coacting means adapted to operate loom-controlling devices whenever said lever device fails to be actuated.

20. A fillingexhaustion-indicating mechanism for a loom, comprising a movable part or carriage adapted, when shifted, to set in operation loom controlling mechanism, a yielding feeler, which feeler is impinged upon normally by means in'the shuttle when the lay is vibrating, a yielding finger which is normally impinged upon by a vibrating part when the loom is running, and an intermedi ate coupler which, habitually couplesthe said finger operatively to the carriage, and which is operatively connected with the feeler for normal actuation when the shuttle contains a predetermined amount of filling, said coup= ler remaining quiescent when the filling in the shuttle is substantially exhausted.

21. A loom-controlling feeler device, having two members adapted to be impinged upon, means for impinging first on one mem= ber to .thereby render inoperative said loomcontrolling device, and means, when exhaustion of the fillingpermits thereof, for impinging first on the other member to thereby actuate said loom-controlling device. I i

In witness whereof Ihave hereunto signed my name, this 9th day of May, 1902, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIO E. KIP.

Witnesses:

PETER A. Boss, I WILLIAM J. FIRTH.

ICG 

